North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Volleyball Heads to Brimingham-Southern Tournament
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2003
Despite two recent losses, the NC State volleyball team is confident of its chances this weekend at the Birmingham-Southern Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. The Wolfpack will compete in three matches over the two-day span, facing Memphis at 11:00 am on Friday morning and then the host Panthers later that night at 7:00 pm. NC State will wrap up play on Saturday morning when it meets Troy State for another 11:00 am match.
Heading into the weekend, the Wolfpack stands with a 5-5 record overall and will look to add some key non-conference victories before it begins ACC play on Tuesday. Leading the way for NC State is outside hitter Julia Reis, who has a team-best 127 kills to go with 87 digs defensively. The freshman currently stands in ninth place in kills among ACC leaders. Also looking to help direct the Wolfpack will be seniors Crystal Shannon and Caroline Frede. Shannon enters with 385 assists on the season, an average of 10.69 per game, which is good enough for fifth-best in the ACC. Meanwhile, Frede, the team's libero, has really stepped up, sporting 104 digs thus far.
Led by the trio of junior middle hitter Tiara Gilkey, senior outside hitter Brittany Barnett and sophomore outside hitter Nancy Nellans, the Tigers are off and running as 10-1 overall and feature a seven-match winning streak. Gilkey features the team's best mark in kills with 171, while Barnett and Nellans are right behind her with 139 and 129 kills respectively. The trio has also weighed in heavily on the defensive side of the net, combining for 337 digs and 51 total blocks.
The Panthers enter their home tournament looking to continue their two-match winning streak and improve their current 3-4 record. Senior middle blocker Danielle Graff leads BSC's offense with 67 kills off a .296 attack percentage. The 6-0 Graff has also been getting the job done on the other side of the net, recording a team-best 80 digs and 21 total blocks. Setter Kyndall Waters will hope to help spark Graff and the rest of the Panthers offensive weapons when she looks to add onto her 245 assists.
Senior middle blocker Rachel Hassan leads the way for the Troy State Trojans, which sport a record of 6-1. Hassan currently has 94 kills off a .310 attack percentage and is also the team leader in digs with 71. Also coming up big for the Trojans is senior outside hitter Haven Triboulet, who features a resume that includes 74 kills, 57 digs and 13 service aces thus far.
